Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Cognition Domains [ Time Frame: end of 12 wk treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

The following 8 scales are combined into a single index that is normalized with a mean score of 100 and a standard deviation of 10. Higher scores are considered better cognitive performance. No subscales scores are reported and a final standardized score is reported as the average of the standardized scores on each of these scales. Here is the listing of component scales that were translated into Chinese and used for this study:

Effectiveness of Tropisetron Plus Risperidone for Improving Cognitive and Perceptual Disturbances in Schizophrenia

Official Title ICMJE

Tropisetron With Risperidone for Schizophrenia

Brief Summary

This study will determine the effectiveness of tropisetron plus risperidone in improving cognitive symptoms in Chinese people with schizophrenia.

Detailed Description

Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling brain disorder. People with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, movement disorders, social withdrawal, and cognitive deficits. In considering the high rate of cigarette smoking among people with schizophrenia, it is also likely that they smoke. People with schizophrenia who smoke tend to experience improved cognition, and tobacco withdrawal has been associated with deterioration of cognition. This suggests that nicotine may improve cognitive deficits or medication side effects in people with schizophrenia.

Auditory sensory gating, a neural mechanism thought to reflect sensory information processing and affect cognition, is diminished in people with schizophrenia. Auditory sensory gating has been associated with the 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, a brain receptor that is important for cognition and can be activated by nicotine. Activation of this receptor using an agonist medication, such as tropisetron, may produce the same positive effect that nicotine has on cognition. This study will determine the effectiveness of using tropisetron as supplemental therapy to the atypical neuroleptic risperidone in people with schizophrenia.

Participants in this 12-week double blind study will be randomly assigned to receive either tropisetron or placebo. All participants will also follow a 6-mg risperidone regimen. Study visits will occur every 2 weeks throughout the study and final outcome assessments will include cognitive functioning and treatment safety and effectiveness.